Hello and welcome to montrealgazette.com and welcome to Midday. Here’s the rundown on some of the stories we’re following for you today.

And we begin that rundown with two incredible stories.

First, when she woke up in a Montreal hospital after being brutally raped and left naked in an alley, Sarelle Sheldon knew only this: She had no cellphone. No clothes. No wallet. No dignity. “You were raped,” she was told by nurses at the hospital when she awoke. Harsh words to digest. She couldn’t remember much after feeling woozy and being guided out of a downtown bar by a strange, older man. She realized that she, the girl who had been best known for volunteering in Africa for a year, would now forever be remembered as the girl who had been raped — that not just her body, but her very psyche, had been violated. Now, almost two years later, the McGill University social work student has found a very public way to reclaim her life, and the whole campus is buzzing about it. The Gazette’s Karen Seidman tells her remarkable story.

And then, an equally compelling story out of Cleveland: “Help me. I’m Amanda Berry,” she told a 911 dispatcher. “I’ve been kidnapped and I’ve been missing for 10 years and I’m, I’m here, I’m free now.” Those words led police to a house near downtown Cleveland where Berry and two other women who vanished a decade ago were found Monday, elating family members and friends who had longed to see them again. Authorities later arrested three brothers. They released no names and gave no information about them or what charges they might face. A relative said one of them is the homeowner, his nephew Ariel Castro. City officials have scheduled a news conference for this morning. Police Chief Michael McGrath said he thinks Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were tied up at the house and held there since they were in their teens or early 20s.

Closer to home, orange-cone season is here but don’t expect a plan of action from Transport Quebec. The provincial government’s promise of more transparency at Transport Quebec apparently does not extend to warning drivers about what roadwork to expect in the coming months. Gazette transportation reporter Andy Riga has more on what the people spending your tax money don’t know.

And finally, a new Conservative advertisement attacking federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau isn’t being well received by Canadians and appears to have had little to no effect in swaying voters to the Tories, according to a new poll. The Ipsos Reid survey conducted exclusively for Postmedia News and Global Television found that despite the attack ad, Trudeau and the Liberals continue to lead all federal parties, with support from 35 per cent of Canadians, up three points from the beginning of April. Click here for more on the survey.

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